Portuguese property funds deliver positive returns in March

Portuguese property investment funds delivered an annual total return of 0.8% in March 2012, a slight decrease compared to the annual return of 1.2% recorded at the end of 2011, according to the APFIPP/ IPD Portugal Property Fund Index.

Overall, the index continued to benefit from the positive behaviour of the open-ended funds, which delivered an annual total return of 1.8%, while the closed-end funds remained in negative territory with an annual return of -1.6%, IPD said.

The slight drop in performance recorded in March is seen in both fund categories. Returns on open- and closed-end funds contracted by -0.3% and -0.4% respectively compared to December 2011.

The APFIPP/ IPD Portugal Property Fund Index is sponsored by the Associação Portuguesa de Fundos de Investimento, Pensões e Patrimónios (APFIPP) and PricewaterhouseCoopers - and consists of 37 property funds with Gross Asset Value (GAV) under management of EUR 7.0 bn as at the end of Q1 2012. The sample comprises 12 open-ended funds and 25 closed-end funds with a GAV of EUR 4.7 bn and EUR 2.3 bn, respectively, as at end-March 2012.

The APFIPP/ IPD Portugal Property Fund Index tracks the annual performance of Portuguese property investment funds based on international methodology, on a quarterly basis.